May 14, 2014
Yuvraj Singh was blasted by experts and fans after his laborious 21-ball-11 in the final of the World T20 in Bangladesh
May 14, 2014
Yuvraj Singh was blasted by experts and fans after his laborious 21-ball-11 in the final of the World T20 in Bangladesh
Confidence is the mantra Murali Muralitharan has been preaching to Yuvraj Singh this IPL season. The two are team-mates this IPL season and Muralitharan told the official IPL website that he has been talking to Yuvraj a lot to lift the Indian left-hander’s spirits.
“He is a great limited overs player, but his confidence was low,” Muralitharan said. After the World Twenty20, the whole country put a lot of pressure on him.” Yuvraj stumbled his way to 11 from 21 balls in the World T20 final against Sri Lanka, and came in for a lot of criticism afterwards, with many blaming him for India's eventual loss. Some supporters even went so far as to stone Yuvraj’s house.
While Yuvraj did his best to shrug off the condemnation that came his way, it clearly affected him in the early stages of the IPL. His batting was tentative and uncertain and his fielding was poor.
He dropped catches and let balls that he would otherwise have stopped while sleep walking, get past him. The high price tag in the auction – Yuvaj was the most expensive player at Rs 14 crore – only increased the pressure of expectation. Enter Muralitharan.
“I know the situation well as I played for 20 years at the highest level. I knew it was just a matter of helping him regain his confidence. I was sure once he did that, he would be a different player. And after the way he has performed in the last two games, it seems I was right.”
In those last two games, Yuvraj has slammed 83 from 38 balls and 68 from 29 balls. The latter innings included nine sixes and he twice hit three sixes in a row.
It was destructive Yuvraj at his best, bringing back memories of him hitting Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. While many have already written off Yuvraj and don’t believe he merits a place in India’s 2015 World Cup squad, Muralitharan believes the opposite.
“I honestly think Yuvi has still got it and India should look after him because I feel he will play a big role in the 2015 World Cup. He will be India’s match-winner there.
Courtesy: PTI
